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The Weekly E-Newsletter of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area
| January 17, 2013
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Prayer RequestsJanuary 20, 2013
 Each week we pray for a ministry or ministers in the PTCA. Click the link below to find who we are praying for this week. - We pray for Teaching Elder Bill Livingston as he recovers from surgery.
- We pray for Teaching Elder Tammy Rider who is dealing with health issues.
- We pray for Elder Ward Sessing (Ruling Elder, Presbyterian Church of the Way, Shoreview) who is dealing with serious health issues.
- We pray for Teaching Elder Gwin Pratt (pastor, St. Luke Presbyterian, Wayzata) and his wife A.J. as she deals with serious health issues.
- We pray for Teaching Elder James Sanders as he struggles with a neuro-muscular disorder called Pompe Disease.
- We pray for our New Church Developments, Chain of Lakes in Blaine and Familia de Fe in Minneapolis as well as their pastors, Paul Moore and Walter Chuquimia, as they share the good news of Christ in their respective contexts.
Pray for the PTCA: This week we are praying for Community Presbyterian Church in Plainview, MN. To learn more about the congregation, please click here.
If you have a prayer concern you'd like to share with the wider Presbytery, please contact us by email at communications@ptcaweb.org .
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To Your HealthImportant Changes are Taking Place in the Presbyterian Board of Pensions
In November, the board of Directors of the Pensions Board recommended a new model for Medical Plan Dues that if passed at the March board meeting would take effect on January 1, 2014.
The reason behind the proposed changes is an anticipated $28 million shortfall by 2014.
Under the current plan, dues are 21 percent of effective salary and it includes family coverage. The proposed changes would lower dues to 19 percent of effective salary, but it would only cover 65 percent of dependents and that would be optional. A fixed premium/flat dollar amount would be added to cover the remaining 35 percent for dependent coverage.
The proposals have not been without controversy. In November Presbyterian pastor and well-known blogger Carol Howard Merritt wrote in her blog about the changes and how they might keep younger folks out of ministry.
In light of the proposed changes, the Presbytery urges teaching and ruling elders to read this article from the Board of Pensions that explains the changes as well as ways to contact the Board to share your opinion.
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January 2013 Presbytery Meeting Recap
Taize Worship, Discussions on the Budget, the Heidelberg Catechism and Kwanzaa's Northside Women's Space were among the topics for the Meeting.
The first Stated Meeting of 2013 started in silence and candles. The folks who made the trek on an cold Saturday morning to Presbyterian Church of the Master in Coon Rapids experienced a Taize worship service led by a number of female ruling and teaching elders in the Presbytery. There were also lively discussions on the Presbytery budget, legislative issues and Youth Triennium. You can find out more by reading Highlights, our unofficial summary of PTCA Stated Meetings. Read the January 2013 edition to find out what happened and how it affects you and your congregation. You can also view pictures from the meeting all by clicking this link. You can also watch Executive Presbyter Chaz Ruark as he gives his Report to Presbytery at the January 12 meeting below:  | | PTCA-TV: A Look Back at 2012 and Forward to 2013 |
The next meeting takes place on Saturday, March 9 at North Como Presbyterian Church in Roseville, MN.
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All Things Per Capita Everything You Want to Know About Per Capita (But Were Afraid to Ask).
Do you want to know more about Per Capita? Do you even know what this year's amount is?*
The Presbytery has a number of resources available for download to help you and your congregation understand this way of funding the work of the Presbyterian Church (USA) both in the PTCA and around the world. Go to our Per Capita page to learn more.*The 2013 Per Capita is $32.37 per member.
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Ubuntu Returns! After a hiatus, our occasional email on Mission makes an entrance for 2013.
Ubuntu is the PTCA's occasional e-newsletter on mission taking place by the Presbytery or in Presbytery churches. The first edition of 2013 is part one of a series on Presbytery Mission funding focusing on Mission Grants. Click here to read the latest Ubuntu and don't forget to share it with friends at your church!
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Presbytery Office ClosedFor Martin Luther King Day.
The Presbytery office will be closed on Monday, January 21 in honor Martin Luther King Day. We will reopen on Tuesday, January 22.
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Presbybriefs
News Taking Place in the Presbytery and the wider Church.
Annual Reporting
PTCA Congregations: Don't forget to fill out their annual reporting forms! A letter by Stated Clerk Bill Davnie was sent in October explaining the process. You can read the letter online by
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You can download the needed forms online. You can go to the
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Register for Presbyterian Youth Triennium (Deadline Extended One Week!)
Presbyterian Youth Triennium 2013 is just around the corner! Every three years, youth from around the country and world gather at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana to share in this extraordinary conference. PYT-2013 will take place July 16-20, 2013. Participants are called to experience the gift of Christ's hope through small group meetings, recreation, a spirituality center, worship, singing, and personal interaction with youth and adults from all over the globe. Triennium is geared toward high school youth (those who will be rising 9th-graders through those who will have just graduated high school as of summer 2013) with special emphasis on spiritual formation and Christian discipleship.
Registration to be a part of the 2013 Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area delegation is now open.
A $150 deposit should accompany each application. The $150 will be applied to the cost of Triennium ($469) if the youth is selected and returned if not. If a youth is selected as a delegate and misses both the overnighters and the mission event, the $150.00 deposit is forfeited. Please make the deposit check out to "Presbytery of the Twin cities Area." Applications are Due on Tuesday January 15th January 22nd, 2013.
There is no limit to the number of youth from your church that may submit an application. However, we reserve the right to limit the number of participants from each church if the number of applications exceeds the number of slots available to our Presbytery.
Questions?
Please send your questions to:
Derek Martin - 507-282-1618 or Martin.Derek@fpcrochester.org
K. C. Kye - 763-503-2600 or KC@cando.org
Are you an adult interested in helping to shape the faith of young disciples? Please download the Adult Volunteer Letter and Application today! Click here to access the files.
Presbytery Resources
 If you want to download the latest Presbytery Form, or Policy, want to know what Per Capita is this year or the Presbytery Minimum for Pastors, please remember the button to your left. It's found on the font page of our website and will lead you to a page that has links to all the resources you need. Try the button now (it links to the website resource page) and find the help you've been looking for!
Mission Yearbooks Available
 We still have Mission Yearbooks available. They make great devotional resources! The price is $15.50 each. If you are interested, please contact Office Manager Risa Anderson at office@ptcaweb.org. You must come to the Presbytery office to pick up your book.
Bills and Overtures Gathering 
On Saturday, February 16, Bills and Overtures will host a gathering at The House of Hope Presbyterian Church from 9 am to 11 am. The purpose of this gathering is for the Committee to listen to those wishing to speak on the amendments and the Heidelberg translation, and answer their questions. The material presented at the January Presbytery meeting will be available.
At the March meeting, the Presbytery will vote on the Heidelberg Confession translation and all other amendments.
Find out what's going on in the larger world of the Presbyterian Church (USA) by reading the latest stories from Presbyterian News Service. Click here to read new and recent articles. |
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News of the Kirks
What's Happening in PTCA Churches.
Upright Freezer and Piano Available ( more) United Church of Christ Youth Leader Praises Youth at Associated-Owatonna ( more) Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist and Undocumented Immigrant to Speak at House of Hope ( more) Discuss issues of race on MLK Day with Chain of Lakes ( more) ( more) St. Luke, Wayzata looking for Music Director and Accompanist ( more) JRLC Day on the Hill 2013 Set for February 21 ( more)
| Looking for a job or open pulpit? Visit our employment page to see our job listings. | Find out what events are taking place in our presbytery by going to the Presbytery Calendar . |
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 EMerge is a weekly publication from the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area (PTCA). Recipients include congregations, teaching elders, ruling elders, church members, committees, and friends. Please send submissions and e-mail corrections to Dennis Sanders, editor, at communications@ptcaweb.org . Usual distribution: Thursdays. You can find out more at the PTCA website: www.presbyterytwincities.org
122 W. Franklin Ave.
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404
Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area
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